During our January 2014 foodie road trip, we made a stop to Charleston, SC. We had dinner reservations at some fabulous restaurants (check out the other reviews), and wondered around the town during the day. We stumbled on 39 Rue de Jean just as we needed to get brunch/lunch, and decided to give it a try. The TripAdvisor.com audience seemed to like it – and it was very active on a generally slow day in Charleston.
39 Rue de Jean Duck Hash
The style of the restaurant can be best described as New Orleans funk – lots of wood, a bit of wall clutter, up beat music. We were in time for brunch – the menu had a lot of standard, slightly up-scaled fare (such as eggs benedict done in about 24 styles), but one item caught our attention: duck confit hash. We’re big fans of good hash, and this one made it to our all-time best list. The hash mix was a perfect combination of duck confit, potatoes, onions, sweet red pepper, and a heavenly gravy that was rich and incredibly flavorful.
One of our favorite exercises is to back-engineer restaurant dishes, and to see if we can come close to matching the flavors. We were able to construct a recipe that, quite honestly, was every bit as good as the 39 Rue de Jean version – but we would still suggest you stop by, and try their food.
Duck Hash
We like duck – no two ways about it. We’ll roast a duck for the two of us, have one, maybe two dinners, and still have leftover meat (plus the bones for stock). It’s more work than chicken, but well-worth the effort. We’ll publish the duck recipe shortly, but here is the Duck Hash recipe to use with the leftovers.
Makes 4 substantial servings
Ingredients
- 1 leek, cleaned thoroughly, and sliced.
- 1 medium garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/2 cup Madeira
- 1 cup veal stock
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbs light roux (flour/butter in a 2:1 ratio. Click this link on: AllRecipes to get instructions).
- Salt and pepper
- 9 oz duck meat, roughly chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch dice
- 4 eggs
- Over medium heat, saute the leeks in 1 tbs duck fat or olive oil until tender (about 8 minutes).
- Add the garlic, and saute for about 30-60 seconds until just fragrant. Immediately add the Madeira (can also use dry sherry, or dry red wine). Let simmer until reduced by one-half.
- Add the veal stock, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce, along with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes. (Note: you can add a bit more brown sugar, depending on your tastes).
- Slowly add the roux, then cook until the sauce thickens.
Hash Preparation
- If you have fat from the cooked duck, place about 3 tbs in a large saute pan (you can also render down some duck skin, or use olive oil).
- Add carrots, red bell pepper, potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, until vegetables are browned, about 20 minutes on medium heat.
- Add onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Add the shredded duck meat to the pan, making sure to discard bones and any gristle. Heat for about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to moderately low, then smooth top of mixture and cook, undisturbed, until bottom of hash is golden when lifted with a spatula, 4 to 8 minutes.
- Add the sauce over the hash; keep warm until the eggs are ready.
- In the meantime, prepare poached eggs for each plate. Serve a helping of the duck hash on each plate, and top with a poached egg.
As always – let us know what you think!
